Shackamaxon Street

     This is 1133 (left) and 1131 (right) Shackamaxon Street as they appeared on Monday, April 15, 1901. Between the years 1858 and 1940, 10 different families lived at 1133. Between the years 1867 and 1950, 8 different families lived at 1131. This is an account of the occupants.

Living at 1133 Shackamaxon:
      William and Lizzie Lowery moved to 1133 Shackamaxon Street in 1858. William was a 28 year old ship joiner and Lizzie was 20 years old. Shortly after moving in, Lizzie gave birth to their second child, Willie (their first child, Joseph Giles Lowery, died at 5 months old from inflammation of the brain on Dec 21, 1855). They had twin daughters, Fannie and Linda in December of 1859. Fannie died from scarlet fever on October 11, 1861. In 1859, the rear of the house was rented out to James McDevitt. James was 29 years old, single and worked as a drayman (he drove a horse and wagon). McDevitt only lived there for about 1 year. In 1860 he moved back home with his parents where he died from tuberculosis on March 21, 1861. 

     The rear was then rented to Isaac and Elizabeth Wilson. Isaac was a 37 year old ship carpenter and Elizabeth was 39. Isaac and Elizabeth had 2 children: Harry age 9 and Lydia age 4. Just a year after moving in, Isaac died on April 15, 1861 from an abscess in his lungs. His obituary said that he died "after a long and painful illness which he bore with fortitude and resignation". After Isaac's death, the rear of the house was no longer rented out. In 1864 the Lowery's moved to 1841 Frankford Ave (where they lived the next 40 years). 

     The next 2 occupants of 1133 Shackamaxon were short timers. Ed Shultz, a chair maker, lived there from 1864 to 1865 and Benjamin C Mickle, a hatter, lived there from 1866 to 1867 (Mickle died on Oct 7, 1869 at age 29. He had just embarked on a new career as a railroad conductor when he had an accident and injured his brain). In 1868, Theresa Rambo and her 4 sons, Lewis, Theodore, Peter and Oscar moved into the house. Theresa was the widow of Peter Rambo, the Post Master of Kensington. Lewis was a roofer and then later a machinist. Theodore and Peter were paint manufacturers and Oscar was a clerk. Theodore married a girl named Kate in 1874. They had 5 children while living at 1133 Shackamaxon but only 2 of them survived childhood: Eva (b Mar 1875 - d Dec 24, 1875 from a sinus infection), Gertrude (b 1877), Harold (b Mar 1880), Theodora Grace (b Mar 25, 1882 - d Jan 18, 1892 from scarlet fever) and Norman (b Jan 29, 1885 - d June 4, 1885 from pneumonia). The Rambo's belonged to Hancock ME Church. Theodora and Norman were baptized together there on May 29, 1885, just 6 days before Norman's death. The Rambo's moved out in 1886.    

     Next to move in were Jacob and Josephine McCleary and their son Charles. Jacob and Charles worked together as Boilermakers. The McCleary's moved out in 1891. Charles and Carolina File along with 5 of their children moved in to 1133 Shackamaxon in 1892. Charles sr was a sawyer, Charles jr was a knitter in a hosiery mill, George was a machinist, Henry was a millwright, William was a driver (but later became an electrician) and Clara was a student. The File's lived there until 1898. In 1899 the house was very briefly occupied by Maria Louisa Sturts who was the widow of Gustave. Late in 1899, she moved out to go live with her son, Gustave jr. 

     In 1900, the house was purchased by David Sibbit who had just received an inheritance from his father. The Sibbit's would live in the house for more than 40 years. It was the Sibbit family who was living at the house when the picture was taken on April 15, 1901. David's wife was named Annie and they had 2 children, Frank and Mary (Mary's nickname was May). David was an ice dealer until 1914 when he switched over to selling coal. On May 27, 1908 Frank suffered a heat stroke at the liquor store where he worked. He was taken to Womens Homeopathic Hospital where he recovered. The official high temperature that day was 88 but the humidity made it feel much hotter. Scores of horses were reported to have fallen exhausted by the heat. 

     May married Albert E Holloway in 1915. May and Albert had 7 children: Anna 1916, David 1920, Albert jr 1922, William 1924, Charles 1925, Viola 1928 and Frank 1930. Albert and May spent most of the the first 10 years of their marriage living with the family of Albert's youngest brother, Daniel. Albert and Daniel were very close. They liked to take fishing trips together. The May 22, 1896 edition of the Phila Inquirer reported that Albert and Daniel had a secret fishing pond where they had just caugt 18 pickerels, one of which weighed 32 1/4 pounds. Daniel was a lawyer and I suspect that he looked out for Albert who wandered through several blue collar jobs. 

     Daniel died suddenly in 1925. Without his brothers help, Albert had trouble supporting his family. In 1930, he was working as a bill poster. He abandoned May and the children in the early 30's. May sent two of their sons, 9 year old William and 8 year old Charles to be raised in a city orphanage. She took the rest of the children and moved back in with her parents at 1133 Shackamaxon. Annie Sibbit died in 1938 at age 82 and David Sibbit was about 90 when he died in the 1940's. May sold the house after David's death.



Living at 1131 Shackamaxon:

      In 1867, Ann Miller, the widow of Danish immigrant Francis Miller, moved into the house with her daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth was 22 years old and supported her 57 year old mother by working as a school teacher. Elizabeth never married. Ann died at age 74 from dysentery on March 3, 1884. Elizabeth moved after her mother's death. 

     The next occupant was John Moore, a blacksmith, who lived there until 1888. Charles E Semple moved in during 1889. Charles was single and worked as a plumber/gasfitter. On the evening of March 28, 1891, Charles was attending a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" at the Chestnut Street Theatre when he collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital but died from cerebral gummat (a form of of syphilis). Annie Seery, the widow of John Seery, lived at 1131 Shackamaxon until 1895. Joseph W MacGregor, a coal dealer, lived there from 1895 to 1896. He later died at age 34 on January 6, 1900 when a cable snapped on an elevator in which he was riding. 

     John and Bertha Kowski moved in during 1896. John and Bertha immigrated to Philadelphia from Germany during the early 1890's. They were married in 1895. John worked as a tailor. The Kowski's were the residents of 1131 Shackamaxon when the picture was taken on April 15, 1901. I am surprised to see the upstairs window open. It was a chilly morning, just 38 degrees at 6am and the high temperature at 12:10 pm was just 51. The Kowski's lived there until 1904 when Joseph Vanish moved in. Joseph was a 47 year old widower from Bohemia. Like John Kowski before him, Joseph Vanish was a tailor. When he first arrived in America in 1886, Joseph spelled his last name as Wanisch. Eventually he went with the phonetic spelling of Vanish. 

     Living with Joseph were his 4 youngest children: Emma 1886, Frank 1889, William 1892 and Viola 1894. Emma worked with her father as a tailoress until her death at age 19 on December 2, 1905 from a brain tumor. Vanish became a naturalized US Citizen on June 5, 1922. Joseph's son, Frank became a Philadelphia Police Officer and lived just down the street from his father at 1115 Shackamaxon. After Joseph died during the mid 1920's, the next occupant of 1131 Shackamaxon was Raymond Gimmi. Raymond was a technician at a dental lab. He and his wife, Mary, raised 3 children: Raymond jr 1927, Mary 1930 and David 1933. The Gimmi's still lived there as of 1950. Their phone number was RE9-0497.


      Today, 1133 Shackamaxon still stands, though it has been altered extensively. The original house at 1131 was torn down and replaced with a new building within the last couple of years.